We have replaced our Web of Science databases, a package consisting of the Science Citation Index, the Social Sciences Citation Index, and the Arts & Humanities Citation index, with a new citation database, Scopus. We appreciate that Web of Science is used by many of you at Willamette, so we did not take this decision lightly. Before making this decision we examined content and functionality for Scopus and Web of Science; given these factors and that Scopus is a fraction the price, the decision was clear.

Currently, the main content differences are that Scopus covers more current content while Web of Science has deeper historical coverage. Scopus indexes roughly 20,000 journals while Web of Science covers about 12,300 journal titles. To give you a perspective on the number of unique journal titles that are not indexed by the other, Scopus currently indexes over 15,000 unique journals while Web of Science indexes nearly 4,400 journals not covered in Scopus. A substantial amount of journal titles are indexed by both databases.

Scopus will have the same “Find It @ Willamette” button that links to the library catalog for fulltext, print, and interlibrary loan options. Scopus also works smoothly with the citation tool called RefWorks. In case you would like to know more about these two databases, here’s a link to more info: http://hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca/index.php/Scopus_vs._Web_of_Science

The Scopus database will be available for use starting in January, and our access to Web of Science will cease at the end of December. If you have any questions about this process, please contact Ford Schmidt (fschmidt@willamette.edu, extension x5407).

Winter break begins on Monday, Dec. 16. During the break, the library will be open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed on weekends. Also, the library (and the rest of campus) will be closed from Dec. 23 through Jan. 2. Regular hours resume on Jan. 13.